


you make me better, better, better

by SebGray



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Angst, Cults, Escape, Hospitalization, Illnesses, Injury, Minor Character Death, Multi, Spoilers, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:47:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22058008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SebGray/pseuds/SebGray
Summary: Finn, having narrowly escaped a militaristic cult, and Rey, having narrowly survived a severe illness, are taken in by Leia Organa to live with her, her brother, Luke, her husband, Han, and Poe Dameron, another person she's practically adopted. As the three learn how to live in a house together, they find themselves falling for each other as they heal from their pasts.
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo, Poe Dameron/Finn/Rey
Comments: 22
Kudos: 41





	1. chapter one

He ran. He ran, and ran, and ran, until his lungs felt like they’d crawled up into his throat and his heart was trying to break past his ribs and skin. The friend coming behind him had fallen, and the sounds of the Brothers beating him as he managed to slip away pounded in his head like a throbbing headache.

Finally, he was at the tall, barbed and electrified fence at the end of the estate. They had stolen the thick, rubber gloves the electricians used to fix them, and he hoped they would work. Shaking like a building in an earthquake, he climbed up the metal, thankful he didn’t feel the pain of electrocution, narrowly avoiding the barbs as he tumbled to the ground. He landed on one leg first, crumpling. His stomach fell as he heard the snap, felt the raging pain.

No time. He heard the Brothers behind him. He had to move, even though all he could do was hobble into the forest surrounding the Academy.

As soon as he disappeared into the trees, he heard some of the Brothers stop at the fence, cursing. “Damn it! How’d that fucker get over the fence?”

“Doesn’t matter. I heard him fall. He broke something. His ass is mine.”

The Brothers ran, probably headed for the gate. Thankfully, it was on the other side of the fence, and then they’d have to loop around. That’d buy him some time, but not much. He’d have to move faster if he wanted to get to the houses nearby he’d seen on the aerial map of the campus in the Director’s office.

As best he could, he ignored his leg and moved, trying to get through the trees as quietly as possible. He tripped on a tree root, stumbling and scraping his hand badly on the tree bark before landing with a hard thud. He managed to stifle the pained cry he’d almost made, but now more pain was blossoming in his ribs where they’d landed on a fallen branch. Fuck. He froze, hoping his stolen dark jumpsuit from one of the workers at the Academy could hide him in the undergrowth.

When a minute had passed without sound, he got up and began to move again.

Everything hurt. Every breath, every step, sent ripples of pain through him. But he kept going, knowing the Brothers would do much, much worse to him if he were caught.

Up ahead, he heard something, and stopped, covering his mouth to hide the sound of his ragged breathing.

A harsh whisper, but not one he recognized. It was not a man; that he was sure of. It was certainly no one from the Academy.

“Dameron, I want you to survey the back,” said the voice, a bit rough with age and commanding. “Report to me if no one is there, alright. If someone is, get out of there. They have weapons and are ordered to kill threats on sight. Understood? We want as few lives lost as possible, including amongst them. Remember, most of these kids are brainwashed. They don’t know what they’re doing.”

“Yes, General Organa,” said the voice back. It was a man’s voice, of similar age to many of the other Brothers, but unfamiliar. He heard people creeping through the underbrush slowly; one moved further away, another came closer. Were they coming to raid the Academy? Were they friends instead of foes? The Director’s voice tried to tell him they were dangerous, enemies to the Truth, and would kill him as soon as they were able. But he was wrong, they knew, and this person seemed to get that.

So he took a chance.

“Hey,” he said, weakly. He heard the familiar sound of a gun cocking and raised his hands. “I’m not a threat!” he whispered harshly, wincing as he raised his arms too quickly. “I’m trying to escape. The Brothers are looking for me. I think I’ve broken something.”

The voice, the male one, said, “Shit.” He heard him move closer. In the dark, he couldn’t see who this man was, but he could sense he was a similar height to him, wearing boots of some kind. “Let me take you to the General. She can help you get somewhere safe.”

“Okay.” He nodded, and the man took his arm, grip lessening when he noticed him flinch. He led him to the woman, hissing, “Leia-- I mean, General Organa! I found someone trying to escape. He’s injured.”

The General said, “Shit.” He felt hands on him, gentle even when he pulled back. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. Did they do this to you?”

“No, I fell. Twice.” He felt a bit stupid confessing that.

“Ah. Let me take you to somewhere safe. Dameron, you do what I told you to do. Thank you for bringing him to me.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The man headed back to where they’d come from, and the General led him to a small area with cars and vans, people in uniforms with weapons and heavy bulletproof vests. In the light, he could see the General more clearly. The General was a woman, he assumed, with round cheeks and a pointed chin, face wrinkled and worn with time, wearing a similar uniform to the others, with a tag on the chest and a helmet. Walking quickly, nodding at passersby who at times saluted before moving on, the General approached someone who sat near one of many red vans, the back doors open to reveal a small bed and medical equipment inside. “Luke,” the General said. “This young man is one of the Brothers. He managed to escape, and claims to be injured.”

The man sighed. He was not wearing a uniform like hers; instead, he wore plain clothes made of blue-green fabric and blue gloves. He was of a similar age to the General, with a grey-brown beard and tired eyes that looked him up and down. “You should’ve radioed me, instead of making a kid with a broken leg walk.”

“He was in the forest, and you know I couldn’t radio you. I would’ve risked myself, this young man, and Poe getting caught.”

The man sighed. “Alright. Kid, let me help you up.” He got up into the van, surprisingly spry for his age, talking on the radio to someone. He lowered the bed for him to get on it, face furrowing as he winced and groaned in pain.

“It’s the left leg, isn’t it? And it sounds like you’ve busted your ribs with how you’re breathing.” The man examined his leg, going gently. He took out some scissors and cut the fabric of his stolen coveralls, now wet with blood from the injury. “Damn. What happened?”

“I was climbing over the fence. Fell on my leg.”

“And the ribs?” the man asked.

“Fell in the forest. Tripped as I was limping.”

The man nodded. “You’re lucky we’re here.” The alternative remained unspoken. The man focused on going about attaching wires and tubes to him, activating various machines. “What’s your name?”

“I’m a Brother,” he said.

“Well, not anymore. And I didn’t ask for your title, I asked for your name.”

He shook his head, confused. “I don’t have anything else.”

The man looked concerned. “What do people say when they call you?”

“They call me Brother. Or you, I guess. If they really wanted my attention, they’d let me know.”

“Damn,” the old man cursed. “I knew you guys were fucked up, but I didn’t know it was this bad.” He sighed. “Were you raised by them? Do you have any memories of anyone else?”

“I guess I was raised by them,” he confessed, eyes down. “I don’t have any memories before this. I remember being little here, so I guess so.”

“You have parents?” the man asked, doing more to assess his wounds. He winced amongst the prodding and examining.

“What are those?”

Another sigh from the man. “Leia’s gonna have fun with this information,” he muttered, taking off the thick gloves he was wearing. “You use these to climb the fence?” he asked, holding them up.

“Yeah. We stole them from the electrician’s cabinet. Managed to hide them in a loose floorboard under our beds. The Director went crazy trying to find them. He knew why someone would steal them. But he never figured it out.”

“We?” the man repeated.

“Yeah, one of the Brothers and I. He…” He frowned, anxiety coming back when he recalled the sound of fists on body, the cries of pain, the heavy drag as his Brother yelled at him to run, just run before a harsh crack.

“He got caught?” The man frowned, no longer angry, now deeply sad. “I’m sorry, kid. What was-- I mean what did he look like?”

“I dunno, kinda tan? Dark hair and eyes? My height, more or less. He was wearing this.” He grabbed the coveralls to show what he meant. “And the gloves.”

“We’ll let you know if we find him.” The man smiled and patted him softly, if a bit awkwardly. “My name is Doctor Skywalker, by the way. Call me that, if you’d like. Leia-- well, General Organa, she’s my twin sister.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

The Doctor put some drugs in his IV, listing them off and explaining what they did. Something about pain or whatever. At this point, he was too tired and anxious to really care about what they did. Then the Doctor began setting his leg. That was annoying, but he supposed the drugs were working because he slowly felt less and less of it, awareness fading gradually until it diminished into nothing.

* * *

He awoke in a hospital, attached to beeping machines. His leg was in a stiff cast now, his hand bandaged up, and he felt hazy and tired still. It was daylight now, he could tell. The General, now in a comfortable but still nice suit, was sitting next to his bed, holding a warm cup of coffee, clearly exhausted. “Hey, kid,” The General said, offering up a sad smile.

“Did you find him?” he asked, moving a little. His chest still ached, though it was duller now; he was now in hospital clothes.

“The one you described to Luke?” The General said, head tilted, face drawn up in a frown. “Dark hair, tan skin, wearing clothes similar to yours?”

“Yes,” he said, looking up in hope.

The General sighed. “We found him, badly beaten. He was nearly gone when Luke got him into an ambulance with some other doctors and got him here. By the time they started working on him here, he was beyond saving. I’m sorry, kid.”

His face crumpled. The one Brother he could trust was gone. The sounds of the fight returned to his mind, and he had to grip the sheets to stave off tears. The General must’ve seen this, leaning forward to gently pat and squeeze his hand. He expected to flinch, looking down at the hand and the unfamiliar touch, but it felt nice, oddly. “It’s okay to cry about it.”

He almost protested, began to move away, but shifting made his leg hurt and his chest pang and retreating felt futile. Slowly, the will to stop himself crying faded, and he weakly wept.

The General sighed, still touching him, not pulling away, not scolding him. It was weird, to cry where someone was watching him without getting punished for it. But as he sobbed, the grip of fear relaxed slowly, slowly.

“You feeling better now, kid?” the General asked.

“A little,” he said, still hating how weak his voice sounded.

The General nodded and reached over to grab him a box of tissues, handing them to him. “When you’re out of the hospital and better, we will have to take your statements regarding the Academy and what they did, if you don’t mind.”

He took a tissue and wiped away his tears. “Who’s ‘we’?” he asked suspiciously.

“We’re a branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in charge of investigating cults. Normally, we don’t get too involved, but when you’re dealing with an organization that kidnaps and abuses children, you have to take care of business. I’m the one spearheading this. My father was wrapped up in something like this, though it was a bit more dangerous. We caught this in its infancy, before it could spread, thankfully. Unfortunately, it has seemed to harm many. Quite a few young men your age, and many children got caught up in this mess.” The General sighed, taking back the tissue box when he seemed to be done with it. “Luke said you didn’t know your name. Do you know anything about yourself? Age, parents, home...anything?”

He shook his head. “No, uh…”

“Just call me Leia. Or Mrs. Organa, if it makes you feel better.”

“Okay, uh, Mrs. Organa.” The name felt awkward, like a new type of gun in your hands, where everything you’re used to being in one place is in another, and the weight is off in your grip. “I don’t know anything. I’ve been with the Academy my whole life. No one else knows anything either. Just the Academy. This is my first time being out of here since I got sick once, but I was little when that happened.”

“Ah, right. My brother said he thought he recognized you. Do you remember the name they called you by?”

“No. I was young, and tired a lot. I think I got some sort of surgery?”

“Luke said it was an appendectomy. You were very ill.”

“Yeah, well, I just had to deal with it. It wasn’t that bad.”

“He said when you came in, you were high out of your mind from pain medications, close to overdosing, and when they stopped working, you were doubled over in pain.”

Ah, that was why he didn’t remember much. “Yeah.”

“You could’ve died, kid. They should’ve taken you in when the pain started.”

He almost protested, but said nothing. Saying “if I showed any signs of weakness to the Director, I would’ve been beaten, and I was nearly killed after returning from the hospital” wouldn’t sound good to someone actively trying to stop the Academy.

“What matters right now, kid, is that you’re going to be safe. The Director and those working for him have been arrested, as have many of the other members of the Academy who attacked your friend. We’re currently working on finding out who you were, who the other kids were, and getting them to safe homes. Once you’re out of the hospital and in a stable condition, we’re going to work on getting your statement and getting you to some therapy, okay?”

He nodded. “Yes, Mrs. Organa.”

The General nodded, getting up. “Luke should be coming in soon to talk about your injuries, and all that. He’ll probably get you on some pain meds. You’ll be out shortly, if all goes well, and I’ll be staying here or close by until you are. When you get out, you’ll come with me. Is that okay?”

With a shrug, he sighed and said, “Okay.”

“Good. Get some rest, kid. You’ll need it.” The General moved out of the room and into the hallway. He sighed, feeling exhausted.

* * *

Poe Dameron hated hospitals. Reminded him too much of his mom and chemotherapy, his dad’s sad eyes, the awful drone of a dead heart rate monitor. So he hung around the area, grabbing food, coffee, whatever, and making sure someone got it to Leia or Luke or whomever needed it, but never going inside. Someone else could do that for him.

On one of his errands, paper to-go bag in hand as he headed down the street from the local taco place Leia would never admit she loved, Poe...noticed something. An odd movement in the alleyway, and his military training pinged. Potential threat. His hand went to his phone, ready to run or call or whatever was needed.

No. Not a threat. Someone was on the ground, moving strangely. Poe approached slowly, then dropped his bag.

Shit, they were having a seizure.

Poe recalled his distant first aid training as he tried to help, getting the person to their side and keeping their airways clear. He couldn’t tell when it started, damn it, but seeing as it was pretty severe, it was probably worth a trip to the hospital anyways.

Once the seizure passed, the person came to slowly, seeming dazed and zoned out. They had brown, greasy hair that hadn’t been washed in a long time, old clothes, dirty and hastily sewn together in spots, worn and threadbare in places. They were also dangerously thin. When they fully realized Poe was there, they backed away, thrashing and kicking weakly as they shouted, “Hey! Hey!”

Poe put up his hands. “It’s okay. It’s fine. You were having a seizure. I think you need to go to the hospital.”

Once they realized he wasn’t a threat, they panted, worn out already. “I did it again?” they sighed. When they turned, Poe noticed a nasty gash on their head.

“What happened there? On your head.” Poe pointed to the gash. The cut seemed deep, and maybe infected, but they couldn’t tell without reviewing their first aid textbook.

They touched it, wincing. “I just banged my head the other. Collapsed and fell. Not a big deal. Just fucking annoying.”

“If you’re having seizures and collapsing, I think you should see a doctor.”

“No, no, I’m fine,” they said, clearly in pain. As they moved to get up, Poe noticed their legs were...swollen? That was weird. He hoped they weren’t pregnant or something; if they were having a baby in this kind of condition, the odds were not in their favor.

“Come on. I know someone who can cover your bills. I think you need to see a doctor. I even know one of the people in the hospital. I can take you to him.”

“No, I’m--” Their protests were interrupted when they had to turn and vomit. Poe turned away, wincing.

“No offense, but I’m not convinced,” Poe said, testily. “Come on.”

Making a face, they weakly tried to get up, wiping off their mouth. Poe offered a hand as he stood. They used the wall to climb to their feet, unsteady as a toddler. As they did, they scraped up their hand a bit, wincing. Poe grabbed the taco bag, glad it didn’t spill, at least, and led the stranger towards the hospital.

The emergency room entrance was the nearest one, thankfully. Poe took a deep breath as they followed the person in. Leia was in the mostly empty waiting room, talking to Luke. Poe caught her attention and waved her over, but when she saw the person with him, she stopped, confused, before looking to Luke, nudging him and pointing at them.

The person seemed oblivious to this as she provided her name.

“Rey Palpatine,” she said.

Poe stopped. Oh. That was why Leia wasn’t coming over.

“And can you tell me what’s wrong?” the person at the front asked as Rey fished something from her bag. “Is it the injury on your head?”

“Oh, uh, this guy wanted me to come in. I’ve been having seizures and collapsing and I guess nausea cause I’ve been puking a lot and…” Her voice faded out. She blinked, confused. Poe shook her gently.

“Ma’am?” the nurse asked, worried.

Poe heard hectic footsteps as Luke cursed. “She’s about to have a seizure.” He approached her, saying to Poe, “We have to move her away from the furniture. Be ready to catch her when she falls.”

Before Poe could do much more than shift so he was more behind her, Rey collapsed, beginning to seize. Luke shouted orders to the nurses nearby as Poe carefully, gently lowered Rey to the floor. Luke examined the woman, looking up and down her body for injuries, then cursed again. “Shit, I think her kidneys are shutting down.” He shouted more orders as Poe backed away, watching the young woman flail, muscles contracting. He moved towards Leia, concerned and worried. When he checked her face, she seemed scared, angry, conflicted.

“Did you know who she was when you saw her?” Leia asked, voice quiet, barely audible over the commotion.

“No. I didn’t. I’m sorry.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. Sheev Palpatine was the head of the cult that had sucked her dad up, turned him into a monster, nearly resulting in her and her brother’s death. Whoever this Rey person was, she was clearly related.

“It’s okay. Don’t apologize for helping someone out. I haven’t even been following her a lot, anyway.” That last part was unconvincing; Poe wasn’t the best lie detector, but after living with Leia for a while, he was decent at reading her. Still, he didn’t poke at it. It wasn’t any of his business.

“Do you think she’ll make it?” Poe asked quietly. “I know Luke’s the doctor, but...she looks messed up.”

Leia frowned. “Is it bad that I hope she does?”

Poe shook his head. “No, no it doesn’t.” At least, I hope it doesn’t.


	2. chapter two

Leia sat in the waiting room. It was too late, but in between the several bad coffees she’d drained and the lingering anxiety, she couldn’t fall asleep. She needed to talk to her brother.

Sure enough, Luke came out, tired and frowning. He stood in front of where she had parked herself, phone plugged to a nearby wall, coffee cups stacked at her feet. “You didn’t even save any for me?” he asked, voice still too tired to properly tease her.

“How is she?” Leia asked.

Luke sighed, slumping into the chair next to her. “I was right. Her kidneys are failing. I think it was something she ate. She said she got something out of a dumpster and she got really sick.”

“A dumpster?” Leia sat up.

“Yeah.”

“Why doesn’t she go to the food bank?”

“You heard what she did at the last one,” Luke sighed.

Leia did. He’d shown her the article when it came out. Rey had gotten into a fight with a food bank staff. Got charged and put away for a decent amount of time. She must’ve been released only a little bit ago. She sighed. “And she can’t get a job, can she?”

“Not with her rap sheet. I looked it up. She’s a felon now, apparently.”

Leia frowned. “How old is she?”

“Turns twenty in August,” he said, sighing.

“She can’t even drink and she’s a fucking felon?”

“She stole over five hundred bucks worth of stuff from Walmart, apparently. They waited for her to keep coming back until it was a felony.”

Leia frowned. “Does she have any sort of skills? I know some people who can hire--”

“She didn’t graduate high school, Leia,” Luke said, sighing. “She dropped out junior year because she kept getting kicked out. Her first criminal charge was when she was twelve. And now with her kidney problems, she’s going to need either dialysis or a transplant, and I don’t think she’s gonna be a priority on the waitlist. She’s got trust issues like no one I’ve seen. She spent a lot of time trying to leave because she was certain we’d be footing her with the bill. I know you want to help, Leia, but she might be too much for even you to handle.”

Leia quieted, thinking. “Is she well enough that I can go talk to her?”

Luke shook his head. “No.”

After a moment, Leia took out a notepad and a pen, but before she could write anything down, Luke put his hand over hers. “Ask Han first, please. See if he can help before you try anything yourself.”

Leia was about to retort when she sighed. “Why do you always have to be right?”

“Because I am,” Luke said with a joking wink. “And I am also exhausted. You call your husband, ask what he would do. He might have a bit more understanding than you do.”

“Alright. Thank you.” Leia took out her phone, giving Luke a grin as he walked out the door. She pulled up Han’s number and sent him a quick text.

Leia: Are you busy? I have a problem and I need some help.  
Han: I can take a break. This hunk of junk sure as hell isn’t going anywhere. Call?  
Leia: Please.  
Han: Alright.

Leia clicked the call button near his name. He picked up quickly.

“Hey,” he said, voice rough and low. “Everything alright?”

With a sigh, Leia said, “No. You remember when we talked about Palpatine’s granddaughter?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s in the hospital. Kidney failure. Luke says it’s probably from something she ate.”

Han groaned. “Fuck, what kind of food causes kidney failure?”

“I don’t know, maybe something coming out of a dumpster?”

After a pause, Han said, “Was shit that rough for her?”

“Apparently. It’s hard to get a job with a felony and no high school diploma.”

“Bullshit.” Han’s voice was sharp, pointed. “I’m both of those things, and I own a fucking--”

“Han,” Leia interrupted, calm but exhausted. “Should I remind you who invested in your garage in order to get you started?”

Han sighed. He knew the answer. “You’re right.”

“And should I remind you what kind of crap you were up to before you started that shop?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” he replied, trying to sound testy, but Leia could hear the grin in his voice. She smiled, too. “But still, it’s a damn fucking shame a kid can’t get a job just because of that.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m guessing you wanted me to give you advice on what to do about her?”

Leia nodded. “How’d you guess?”

“Well, it was either that or you were asking permission for her to come home with us, so I took my shot.” Han chuckled a bit. “I don’t think you’re gonna convince her of much of anything. You work for the government. She isn’t gonna trust you.”

“I figured. I hoped I could leave a note--”

“Let me talk to her,” interrupted Han, tone firm. “One criminal to another, you know?”

“I thought you were a reformed, productive member of society,” Leia said incredulously.

“Only one of those things is technically correct,” Han joked. “I thought you thought I wasted my time on my hunk of junk.”

Leia considered making a raunchy joke, but given that the room wasn’t completely empty, she sighed and said, “Touche.”

“I thought you were going to give me a double entendre.”

“I considered it.” Leia smiled softly. Beneath the sass and jokes, she sighed, exhausted. “I love you,” she said. When Han paused, she added, “Don’t you dare.”

Han laughed. “I love you, too.”

“You gonna be okay on food?”

“I got leftovers.”

“How old are the leftovers?” Leia raised an eyebrow. She’d been busy, so her regimental date-recording system in the fridge had become a bit lax.

Han paused. “Poe said he’d considered ordering pizza.”

“Good boy,” Leia teased, smile returning.

“Oh, and when is Finn coming over? The guest room could probably use a good clean-up.”

“Soon. They’ll be doing more checkups on him first. Get him set up with a physician and some physical therapists.”

“And when are you coming home?”

“What, are you saying you miss me?”

“Me? Miss my wife of nearly thirty years? Never.” Han laughed again.

“Well, I miss you, too. I should be coming home soon, if all goes well.”

“Alright, good. Take care of yourself. Those hospital chairs aren’t comfortable. And the bed here is always open...”

“Oh shut up,” Leia said.

“Fine. Love you.”

“I love you, too. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Leia ended the call and sighed. As tempting as her own bed was, she didn’t want to leave in case she got news about Rey or Finn, or needed to fill out insurance paperwork or something. Leia sighed, opening her texts to ask around to see if someone could get her something caffeinated and halfway decent tasting.


End file.
